Behind His Mask: My Hockey Alpha
Rhea Hale, a young art restorer at the old Elaria gallery, lives a life of near-perfect calm-canvases, colors, and classical symphonies that fill her every day. But when she touches a mysterious painting titled The Moon Painting, something inside her begins to shift. Strange visions, eyes watching from the fog, and wild emotions she can't explain slowly start to unravel her peaceful world.
Across the city, Kaelan Viero-the national hockey team's captain-carries the charm and composure of a champion. But beneath the arena lights and public spotlight, there's a side of him he never shows... until his eyes lock with a stranger's in the stands.
That brief moment sparks something long buried.
And from then on, neither of their lives remains the same.
"One glance started it all. And after that... there was no turning back."
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Chapter 1
(Rhea's POV)
For some people, a painting is just art. But for me, it's peace-at least until an old painting arrived at the gallery this morning.
I stared at it-"The Moon Painting"-now laid out on the restoration table. The canvas was aged, the colors dull, and some corners were starting to peel. But what had me frozen wasn't just its physical state. There was something about this painting that made me... feel strange. Like my heart would beat faster every time I gently brushed its surface.
I'm Rhea Hale. A painting restorer. And since I was a kid, I've always had a sensitivity to old things. Some people call it intuition. My mom said I was "different." But to me, it just means I often end up emotionally drained after working.
Today I was alone in the restoration studio at Elaria Gallery. The afternoon light streamed in through the large windows, catching dust particles dancing in the air. "The Moon Painting" was set to be displayed at a charity event tomorrow at two. I was almost done restoring it.
"You look completely lost in that painting," said Mrs. Elka, the gallery owner, pulling me out of my thoughts. She stood in the doorway with a cup of tea in her hands.
I turned to her. "I don't know, Mrs. Elka. It feels like... I've seen this painting before. But I'm sure I haven't."
She walked over and examined the painting, brows furrowed. "That's how I felt when I first saw it too. It was found in storage at one of our old gallery branches. There's no record of the artist, but somehow... the vibe is strong."
I nodded slowly. "You're right, Mrs. Elka. Look at the eyes... They look alive."
"The eyes?" she asked with a chuckle.
I shook my head quickly. "I mean, they look like... they're following us."
She laughed. "That's just because you're exhausted from working on it."
Before the conversation could go on, the studio door swung open. Lina-my fellow restorer-walked in with a huge smile and two tickets in her hand.
"Rhea! Guess what I've got!" she said excitedly.
I grinned. "With that look on your face, I know it's not just good news-it's amazing news."
She waved two metallic blue tickets. "Exclusive tickets to tonight's hockey game! Front row seats! My friend works at the arena and just gave these to me!"
I raised an eyebrow. "Tonight? But we've got that charity event tomorrow at two."
Mrs. Elka cut in, "Relax. The painting's almost done, right? You can head home early-as long as your work's completely finished."
Lina nodded eagerly. "Besides, you'll totally regret it if you don't come. Because... Kaelan's playing tonight."
I rolled my eyes. "Kaelan Viero?"
"Yes! That's why you have to come! Come on. When else will we get to see him play live?"
After thinking it over for a bit, I nodded. "Alright. But we'll leave after I've cleaned everything up."
We chatted for a little while longer before Lina left to get ready, and Mrs. Elka said goodbye to take care of tomorrow's event. I turned back to The Moon Painting. The mist between the trees looked like it was almost moving. And... two faint golden eyes were hidden among the shadows.
I reached for the switch to turn off the main lights. But right before the room went dark-I saw it.
Those two golden eyes glowed.
I froze. Leaned in closer. But the light was too dim now.
"Maybe it's just a reflection," I whispered. "Or I'm just tired."
I decided not to think too much of it. Locked the studio and went to catch up with Lina.
***
The hockey arena was packed. Cheers from the crowd, the sound of bells, spinning lights-everything made the atmosphere electric. Lina and I sat in the front row, the perfect spot to watch the match. And honestly... it was my first time watching a national hockey game live.
"This is insane," I murmured. "I've never been this close to the rink before."
"Wait 'til Kaelan comes out," Lina said with a knowing smile.
A few minutes later, music blasted and the players started skating onto the ice. The cheers got louder. And then, Kaelan Viero appeared.
He looked different than he did on TV. Taller. Sexier. More real. And... more dangerous.
Kaelan skated to the center of the rink with his team. But somehow, before the game even started, he turned toward the crowd. And his eyes-those sharp golden eyes-landed right on me.
I froze. It felt like being caught on camera-but deeper. Like he could see through me.
"He's looking at you," Lina whispered, eyes wide.
I shook my head. "No... He's probably just looking toward the general crowd. Not directly at me, Lina."
Lina eventually nodded, agreeing with me.
Just then, the game started.
It was intense right from the start. The scraping skates on the ice, body checks, and the sound of sticks hitting the puck made my chest tighten. Kaelan's team dominated from the first minute. He moved fast, sharp, calculated-like a predator who knew exactly when to strike.
A few times, he weaved past opponents with jaw-dropping moves, making the crowd scream. But I barely cheered. My eyes were stuck on him. Not as the national team captain... but as someone whose presence made my body react in ways I couldn't explain.
Why did seeing him in person mess with my emotions like this?
Kaelan scored the winning goal in the final minute. The entire arena exploded in celebration.
But what made my heart race... was the fact that right after the goal, he looked at me again.
Again. Directly at me.
That gaze hit me hard, like something stirred in my chest. It wasn't love, it wasn't admiration. It was... something I couldn't explain. Like my body knew him, more than just a famous hockey player.
The match ended with a massive win for Elaria Northern Blades. The whole arena was buzzing with energy, cheers for Kaelan, the other players, and the team echoing everywhere.
Honestly, for an introvert like me, this kind of atmosphere made my chest tight-until I got a headache and felt a little sick.
"Rhea, I'm gonna run to the restroom," Lina said.
I instantly smiled, relieved-this was my chance to escape the chaos. "I'll come with you."
Lina chuckled. "I knew you'd want to get out of this crowd."
"I'll wait in the side hallway by the stands," I said as I stood up.
We squeezed past other fans who were still busy celebrating the win. And just as I turned to find the exit, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist.
"Lina, why are you dragging me this wa-"
My sentence stopped.
The person holding my wrist... wasn't Lina.
His hand was still wrapped around mine.
I looked up-and the world seemed to stop.
Kaelan Viero.
He was standing right in front of me. Way too close. Way too real.
"Sorry, I thought you were my friend," I said awkwardly.
"We need to talk," Kaelan said.
He stared at me. His golden eyes glowed faintly.
"Do you know me?" I asked without meaning to.
"Not yet. But... I think you're about to find out a lot more than that."
I wanted to ask him more. But something in his gaze-and the way he spoke-made my body freeze.
"Will you come with me?"
***
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7.4
I was the bankrupt socialite everyone pitied, standing in the mud at my mother's grave with nothing left but a pair of old Louboutins and a single white rose. My bank account was overdrawn by three hundred dollars, but I still believed Julian, my fiancé, was the one person who hadn't abandoned the toxic Compton name.
Then I saw his Maybach shaking in the cemetery parking lot. Through a crack in the window, I heard the man I loved whispering to my stepsister, Tiffany.
"Don't worry about the broke princess. Once I secure her voting proxy for the trust, I'm dumping her."
Tiffany laughed, clutching the scarlet coat she'd charged to my own maxed-out credit card.
"She's so pathetic, Julian. She actually thinks you love her."
I didn't scream; I recorded them. But when I tried to use that leverage, my family turned into vipers. To protect Julian's status, they framed me for causing Tiffany to miscarry a fake pregnancy and planted stolen documents in my bag. My own father stood by as they locked me in a room, planning to sell me to a predatory creditor named Hightower to settle his gambling debts. I ended up in a freezing police cell, my ankle shattered and my reputation destroyed.
I sat on that metal bench, shivering as I realized my own blood had traded my life for a check. I called the only man powerful enough to burn them all-Julian's uncle, the "Butcher of Wall Street," Alden Stark. The phone just kept ringing. He wasn't coming. To the world, I was just a walking bankruptcy filing, a girl who had finally run out of luck.
I didn't wait for a savior. I escaped custody and ran barefoot through the rain, leaving a trail of blood on the marble floor of Stark Tower. When I collapsed at Alden's feet, he didn't look at me with pity; he looked at me like a rare, damaged artifact he finally owned.
"Inform the board that this is my fiancée," he announced, lifting me into his arms.
I signed the marriage contract that night, trading my freedom for the power to ensure my family's liabilities exceeded their assets for the rest of their natural lives.
8.4
Kathern was forced out of her sister's home by her abusive brother-in-law, who violently demanded she pay half the rent or get out.
To protect her sister from his rage, Kathern agreed to a six-month paper marriage with a stranger—an old woman's grandson, Bronson—in exchange for a simple apartment.
But her new husband treated her like a scheming gold digger from the very first second.
He showed up to City Hall in a cheap suit, shoved a brutal prenup in her face, and dumped her in a completely empty, dust-filled apartment.
"Just don't cause any trouble," he warned coldly, before leaving her alone.
When Kathern politely texted him to ask if he was coming home for dinner, he immediately blocked her number.
Kathern was furious and baffled. She didn't want a dime of his money, nor did she care about his boring middle-management job.
She had only agreed to this marriage for a place to sleep, yet this arrogant man treated her like absolute garbage.
Refusing to swallow the insult, Kathern immediately dialed his grandmother to expose his behavior.
She was going to build her own independent life, completely unaware that her "cheap corporate loser" of a husband was actually the ruthless billionaire CEO of the Vaughan empire.
9.8
Adeline's stepmother had secretly drugged her for years, turning a child genius into a drooling, mentally disabled laughingstock just so her stepsister could steal her life.
But when her greedy father sold her off to Griffin Herring—a violent, untouchable billionaire psychopath—to save his company, things took a deadly turn.
Before the wedding, Griffin attacked her in a dark alley, nearly snapping her neck before stealing her grandfather's silver necklace.
That necklace held a micro-drive with her family's deepest secrets, and without it, she had nothing.
Back at the estate, her situation only worsened. Her stepsister Damaris paraded around in the Herring family's diamond engagement gifts, trying to force-feed Adeline wet dog food on an Instagram live stream.
When Adeline's calculated "clumsiness" ruined the video, her furious father locked her in a damp, rusted basement.
"Give her to the psycho," her stepmother hissed through the door. "Let him lock her away forever."
Listening from the shadows, Adeline's fists clenched until her palms bled.
Her supposed mental fog wasn't a tragedy—it was a calculated assassination of her mind. They had destroyed her childhood and were now throwing her to a monster just to keep the billions.
The dull, empty look in Adeline's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a razor-sharp, chilling clarity.
She pulled a thin surgical needle from her messy bun and picked the heavy iron padlock in ten seconds. It was time to break into the billionaire's penthouse, take back her necklace, and tear them all apart.
7.7
Olivia Pearson is just a pawn – a wife bought to rescue her father's ailing business. Her husband, Sebastian, maintains his icy grip over her life and escape feels like a pipe dream. But when Olivia uncovers the secrets of his empire filled with lies and illicit dealings, she decides to take control. The more she tries to figure things out, the more she realizes that the only person who can assist her might be Ethan Blackwood, Sebastian's brother, and the man who has captured her heart.
Now Olivia is sandwiched between two brothers. The choice to make is simple but painfully difficult; the husband who owns her or the difficult, yet enticing lover who comes with freedom.
It remains to be seen what is more perilous: that decision, or the consequences that follow.
THIS IS A SIZZLING NEW ROMANCE – NO HANDS!
8.6
Since returning to her family, Evelyn had never truly been accepted or treated as their own daughter.
On her wedding day, her parents chose her adopted sister over her, and the man she was supposed to marry abandoned her on the highway for his true love without even looking back once.
Heartbroken but resolute, she tore off her veil and stood before his rival. "I dare you to steal the bride."
Shane met her gaze. "Why wouldn't I?"
Their impulsive marriage shocked everyone. Her ex later begged, "Give me another chance."
Shane pulled her close, his voice cold. "Too late. She's my wife now."
7.4
My fiancé Javen sent me to a yacht in the middle of a New York storm to finalize a high-stakes merger with Alfonse Wolfe, a billionaire rumored to have ice water in his veins. I did it for "us," shivering in a soaked evening gown and cutting my hand on broken glass just to get the signature that would save Javen’s company.
But when I rushed back to the Doyle estate, the manor was blazing with lights for an unannounced engagement party. Javen wasn't waiting for me with open arms; he was standing on the dance floor with Blossom Vega, the daughter of his biggest competitor, announcing their union to the elite of New York.
When I stepped forward, dripping blood and water onto the marble floor, Javen didn't try to protect me. He looked at me with pure disgust and told the gathered press that I was a "charity case" suffering from mental delusions. His mother laughed while calling me a cockroach, and his father claimed my family’s lost fortune was a hallucination. To ensure my silence, Javen leaned in and whispered that he would pull the plug on my disabled brother’s life-saving medical care if I didn't disappear.
I was hauled away by security and locked in a dark storage room like a stain on his perfect evening. I lay there in the dust, unable to process how twelve years of love could be a calculated lie. How could the man I was supposed to marry use my brother’s breath as a bargaining chip after I had just sacrificed everything to save him?
I escaped through a second-story window and went straight to the only predator powerful enough to tear the Doyles apart: Alfonse Wolfe. I didn't just ask for sanctuary; I demanded a marriage license to unlock my mother’s secret trust and protect my brother. Standing in a high-security vault as the new Mrs. Wolfe, I discovered a truth that changed the game. I didn’t just have the money to ruin Javen; the deed in my hand proved I now owned the very land beneath Alfonse’s mansion.
"I’m not the prey anymore," I whispered, watching the Doyle stock plummet on my phone. "I'm the hunter."